Marc Sageman, forensic psychiatrist, discusses the importance of gathering actual solid evidence on terrorists, as human beings, and the difficulties present in collecting this information. He describes the information he gathered on a group of modern Salafi terrorists and the environment they came from.

Video and audio options are available.

Michael Radu of the Foreign Policy Research Institute's Center on Terrorism, Counter-Terrorism, and Homeland Security examines the definition of terrorism throughout history and around the globe—including how the media muddies the waters and how different nations and cultures today label certain acts as terrorism and refuse to label other actions as such.

Video and audio options are available.

David Forte of Cleveland State University discusses the development of Islam away from its original written texts, arguing that the legal community, the needs of empire, and tribalism have distorted the religion's spiritual message, resulting in the current harsh treatment of apostates and religious minorities. He includes some comparison of Islam's development to that of Christianity and Judaism.

Video and audio options are available.

Alan J. Kuperman of the University of Texas looks at global instances of genocide following the Holocaust—specifically the Hutu/Tutsi conflict in Rwanda and the conflict in Sudan, including in the Darfur region. He argues that genocide does not usually follow the relatively black-and-white model of the Holocaust and that educators must encourage students to examine and acknowledge the complexity of any conflict when engaging in activism. To appreciate and comprehend the benefits of freedom, students need to know what it's like to live without freedom—or worse, in conditions of harsh repression, even genocide. To help teachers teach students about life without freedom, FPRI's Marvin Wachman Fund for International Education, in cooperation with the National Constitution Center and the National Liberty Museum, assembled some of the world's leading analysts—and witnesses—of countries without freedom. The conference helped teachers define totalitarianism while examining the history of the idea of freedom.

To listen to this lecture, scroll to "Genocide: The Cases of Rwanda and Sudan" under "Speakers and Topics." Audio and video options are available.

Herman Belz of the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation, examines in what sense the Civil War and Reconstruction can be considered a "revolution." He looks at where such a "revolution" may have originated and whether it was political in nature. This lecture was delivered as part of "America in the Civil War Era: A History Institute for Teachers," held May 17-18 at Carthage College in Kenosha, WI, sponsored by the Foreign Policy Research Institute's Wachman Center and by the Clausen Center for World Business, Carthage College and Adult Education, Carthage College.

Audio and video options are available.

Michael Johnson of Johns Hopkins University discusses slavery from an educator's perspective, looking particularly at his own techniques for teaching the subject. He examines the topic from a broad view, establishing context for his later discussion of Frederick Douglass. This lecture was delivered as part of "America in the Civil War Era: A History Institute for Teachers," held May 17-18 at Carthage College in Kenosha, WI, sponsored by the Foreign Policy Research Institute's Wachman Center and by the Clausen Center for World Business, Carthage College and Adult Education, Carthage College.

Audio and video options are available.

This lecture, created by the Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project, traces the history and status of African Americans in Illinois, beginning with the early years of North American exploration and continuing on to the Civil War.

Edward L. Ayers of the University of Virginia looks at Northern and Southern responses to John Brown's Raid and John Brown's execution, focusing on the regional differences the responses brought to the fore and media manipulation of these responses.

To view this clip, select "John Brown's Raid and the American Sectional Crisis" under "Political Development Video."

Edward L. Ayers of the University of Virginia looks at the early antebellum support of African colonization as an answer to U.S. racial tensions, and considers it as a possible root of the later abolitionist movement.

To listen to this lecture, select "The Movement of African-American Colonization" under "African-American Experience Video."